“This is the f…ing news … and current affairs.”
Broadcaster Patrick Gower’s rousing acceptance speech for Best Presenter: News and Current Affairs during the New Zealand Television Awards had the room in cheers and, nearly, tears.
In the Winner’s Longue, Gower wrapped his Paddy Gower Has Issues co-star Karen O’Leary, who had just picked up her award for Best Presenter: Entertainment, in a large embrace, asking “can you believe it?”
Their cheers were so loud a worker had to gently scold them for disrupting the show.
“I’ve waited a long time, you know, I’ve worked hard and … I’m sorry,” Gower says. “I’m just a bit lost for words because it’s just sinking in.”
“This is the f…ing news, baby.”
David White
“I’ve waited a long time, you know, I’ve worked hard and … I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m just a bit lost for words because it’s just sinking in.”
Gower wasn’t the only big winner on Tuesday night – for the first time in four years, 1News managed to break Newshub’s winning streak by receiving the award for Best News Coverage for their reporting on the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The publicly-voted Television Personality of the Year was awarded to Below Deck: Down Under star Aesha Scott, whose quick work in helping a fellow co-star of her reality show saw the star lauded internationally.
She shed tears while hugging her boyfriend, fellow Kiwi Scotty Dobson.
“I just love New Zealand so much,” Scott told Stuff.
“I’ve been doing things overseas for, like, five or six years now, and I feel like it’s taken so long to catch on in New Zealand, so to finally be recognised … I’m like, ‘oh God, this is what has meant the most to me and I finally got it tonight.
“I’m just a girl from Tauranga – this is so buzzy.”
Chris McKeen/Stuff
The publicly-voted Television Personality of the Year was awarded to Below Deck: Down Under star Aesha Scott.
The awards were held on Tuesday at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre, hosted by actor and comedian Kura Forrester, whose entrance was greeted with a stirring waiata from the crowd.
The ceremony refused to ignore the elephant in the room: on the same day as Te Pāti Māori organised protests over fears the new National-led government would take Māori back decades, famous faces were enjoying free food and alcohol and awards.
The government were slammed in multiple winner’s speeches and host monologues, impromptu waiata took over the crowd on multiple occasions, and Māoritanga was celebrated.
Continuing the winning streak, TVNZ’s Sunday was named Best Current Affairs Programme and 1News’ Thomas Mead won Reporter of the Year, following his work on the Mama Hooch case and bullying within schools.
Stuff
Oscar Kightley with 1News at 6pm supervising producer Tati Urale at the NZTV Awards.
Acting icon Oscar Kightley was honoured with the Television Legend award, thanking his mother in the audience for putting up with the years of people saying her son was on the telly “acting like an egg.”
“That meant everything,” Kightley said of his mother’s attendance.
“It was a real full circle moment where I got to publicly really show her how much I appreciate her.”
The Gone, produced by Kingfisher Films, Keeper Pictures and Southern Light Films for TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+, took out the most awards of the evening with five wins.
This included: NZ On Air Best Drama, Images and Sound, Best Cinematography: Drama / Comedy Drama, Images and Sound Best Original Score, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup Design.
The director and editor of Stuff Circuit’s Fire and Fury, Toby Longbottom, won dual awards for Best Editing: Documentary or Factual and Best Director: Documentary / Factual.
STUFF CIRCUIT
The director and editor of Stuff Circuit’s Fire and Fury, Toby Longbottom, won dual awards for Best Editing: Documentary or Factual and Best Director: Documentary / Factual.
Princess of Chaos, a TVNZ telefeature by Chaos Films Ltd, Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Ltd, and Augusto Ltd’s won the awards for Best Editing: Drama / Comedy Drama, Best Post Production Design and Screen Auckland Best Director: Drama / Comedy Drama.
Discovery ANZ channels won five awards, programming on Whakaata Māori won three awards (including one shared with The Coconet), while The Coconet and Stuff each won two awards and Sky and RNZ content received one award apiece.
Programmes funded by NZ On Air received 19 awards across this year’s categories; two recipients of Te Puna Kairangi – Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund won six awards between them, and Te Māngai Paho funded three of this year’s award-winning programmes.
The 2023 New Zealand Television Awards winners:
- NZ On Air Best Drama – The Gone – Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ
- Best Comedy – Educators: Season 3, Episode 1 – South Pacific Pictures / TVNZ + and TVNZ 2
- Best Factual Series – When Bob Came: Season 1 – Stella Maris Production / Caravan Carpark Films / TVNZ+
- NZ On Air Best Documentary – No Māori Allowed – Kindred Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Best Original Reality Series – The Walkers: Season 2, Episode 3 – Hi Mama Productions / TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+
- Best Format Reality Series – The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes – Great Southern Television / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Best Current Affairs Programme – Sunday – TVNZ / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+NZ On Air
- Best Children’s Programme – Mystic, Season 3 – Libertine Pictures & Slim Film + TV / TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+
- Te Māngai Pāho Best Māori Programme – NZ Wars, Stories of Wairau – Aotearoa Media Collective & Great Southern Television / RNZ
- Te Māngai Pāho Best Reo Māori Programme – Homesteads – Te Imurangi Ltd / Whakaata Māor
- NZ On Air Best Pasifika Programme – Brutal Lives Mo’ui Faingata’a: Season 2– Kingston Productions Ltd / The Coconet TV
- Best News Coverage – 1News, Cyclone Gabrielle – TVNZ / 1News, TVNZ 1
- Best Sports Programme – East Coast Rising – Pango Productions / TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+
- Best Live Event Coverage – ANZAC 2023 – Whakaata Māori
- Best Entertainment Programme – Taskmaster NZ – Kevin & Co / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2
- Best Director: Documentary/Factual – Toby Longbottom, Fire and Fury – Stuff Circuit / StuffScreen Auckland
- Best Director: Drama / Comedy Drama – Kiel McNaughton, Princess of Chaos – Chaos Films Ltd, Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Ltd & Augusto Ltd / TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+
- Best Actress – Antonia Prebble, Double Parked – Kevin & Co / Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ / ThreeNow and Three
- Best Supporting Actress – Sesilia Pusiaki, Inky Pinky Ponky – Tikilounge Productions / The Coconet TV / Whakaata Māori
- Best Actor – Dominic Ona-Ariki, One Lane Bridge – Great Southern Television / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Best Supporting Actor – Rick Donald, Educators – South Pacific Pictures / TVNZ+ and TVNZ 2
- Reporter of the Year – Thomas Mead, 1News – TVNZ / 1News, TVNZ 1
- Best Presenter: Entertainment – Karen O’Leary, Paddy Gower Has Issues – Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ /ThreeNow and Three
- Best Presenter: News And Current Affairs – Patrick Gower, Newshub Live at 6pm, Paddy Gower Has Issues, AM, The Project NZ, Paddy Gower On… – Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ / Newshub / ThreeNow and Three
- Television Personality of the Year – Aesha Scott, Below Deck Down Under – Bravo (New Zealand
- Television Legend – Oscar Kightley
- Best Editing: Documentary / Factual – Toby Longbottom, Fire and Fury – Stuff Circuit / Stuff
- Best Editing: Drama / Comedy Drama – Carly Turner, Princess of Chaos – Chaos Films Ltd, Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Ltd, Augusto Ltd / TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+
- Best Camerawork: Documentary / Factual – Kina Scollay & Alex Hubert, Our Big Blue Backyard – Snares Island – NHNZ Worldwide Ltd / TVNZ 1 & TVNZ+
- Best Director: Multi Camera – Steve Jamieson, Rugby World Cup 2023 Final – World Rugby / HBS / ThreeNow, Three & Spark
- Images & Sound Best Cinematography: Drama / Comedy Drama – Dave Cameron NZCS ACS, The Gone: Season 1, Episode 2 – Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Best Contribution to a Soundtrack – Ben Sinclair, Buster Flaws, Travis Heffernen, Steve Finnigan, Joel Haines, The Brokenwood Mysteries: Season 8, Episode 2 – South Pacific Pictures / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Images & Sound Best Original Score – Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper, The Gone: Season 1, Episode 4 – Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Best Post Production Design – Alana Cotton, Princess of Chaos – Chaos Films Ltd, Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Ltd & Augusto Ltd / TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+
- Best Production Design – John Allan, One Lane Bridge – Great Southern Television / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Best Costume Design – Pauline H Pohatu, The Gone – Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Best Makeup Design – Kelly Mitchell, The Gone – Kingfisher Films/ Keeper Pictures/ Southern Light Films / TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
- Best Script: Comedy – Dana Leaming, Not Even: Season 1, Episode 4 – Miss Conception Films / Sky Open
- Best Script: Drama – Jessica Joy Wood, Shortland Street: Season 32, Episodes 7714, 7715, 7716 – South Pacific Pictures / TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+
